Metric advances by centimeters

February 12, 1981

Boston
— All the talk about American industry converting to the metric system is just that -- talk. The switch to metric simply isn't happening on any significant scale, says Purchasing Magazine.

Only 50 percent of the industrial buyers responding to a nationwide survey by the magazine say any portion of their purchasing dollars are spent for metric parts or components. What's more, purchasing managers who are buying metric say such expenditures amount to a scant average of 6.3 percent of their total dollars spent.

Nonetheless, 72 percent of the purchasing executives who responded to the survey say they expect their metric purchases to increase, especially as machine tools and other equipment are purchased abroa d.